NASA Stardust Samples Analyzed at BNL

Stardust
Video

See a video (in
Real format) of researchers at the National Synchrotron Light Source discussing
the analysis of the Stardust samples.
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Space Studies at the NSLS

The Stardust particles are not the first space-dust particles to be
brought to the NSLS for analysis, nor are they the only type of
extraterrestrial material to be studied there. For example, Mars meteorites
and meteorites believed to originate from asteroids have also been analyzed
at the facility.

BNL: Interested in the Birth of Our Universe

Analyzing dust particles collected by the Stardust probe is just another
way that scientists at Brookhaven are learning about the origins of our
solar system and our universe. At the Lab’s powerful particle accelerator,
the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC),
scientists are studying very energetic collisions between beams of atomic
nuclei to see if they can recreate the conditions that may have existed just
after the Big Bang — the massive explosion that marks the birth of our
universe.

The NASA-BNL Link

NASA and Brookhaven formed another strong bond in the summer of 2003 with
the commissioning of the
NASA
Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), a research facility designed to study
the effects of space radiation with the goal of developing and testing
protective measures for future astronauts and spacecraft.

From February to August 2006, Brookhaven National Laboratory hosted a
series of very exciting experiments — the analysis of space dust
collected by
NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, which, after nearly seven years
collecting cosmic matter during its travels through the solar system,
landed safely in Utah in January 2006. The experiments took place at the
Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a facility that uses
x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light for research.

Launched on February 7, 1999, Stardust’s mission was to collect dust
and carbon-based compounds from a passing comet, as well as tiny amounts
of interstellar dust streaming toward Earth from deep space. The
delivery of this material marks the first time since Apollo 17 that a
NASA spacecraft has successfully brought back a space-matter sample.

At the NSLS, a portion of that teaspoonful-sized amount of comet and
star dust was studied to determine its chemical composition and
properties. This information could help answer some very important, very
fundamental questions about the formation of the solar system and Earth.

The first samples from Stardust arrived at the NSLS suspended within
an “aerogel” substance used to capture them in space. To study the
aerogel-encased particles, scientists used extremely tiny and bright
infrared and x-ray beams to extract chemical and mineralogical
information. These beams are an excellent tool for analyzing the
particles,
most which are less than 15 micrometers in diameter. The diameter of a
human hair, for comparison, is about 50 micrometers.

Once the particles were extracted from the gel, a powerful x-ray
imaging device was used to collect detailed images of some of the
smallest particles as well as determine their elemental makeup. In
particular, the scientists looked for the element carbon, which can
indicate that the particles contain organic compounds — compounds that
may have formed at the birth of our solar system.

Infrared light was used to identify specific minerals within the
particles, as well as identify any organic compounds that were detected.
Unlike x-ray methods, the information collected using these infrared
techniques can be compared with the astronomical observations of distant
interstellar dust clouds, including those involved with the formation of
planetary systems like ours.

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of
Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory
conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as
well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds
and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and
government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of
Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by
the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony
Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle,
a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.